Dirty Jean Jacket
by AthiestChurch
Summary: Austin Moon is a homeless orphan that has spent almost his entire life drifting around the country. He has no ties to anyone or anyplace, until he comes to Miami, Florida. There, his world is thrown out of balance by three teenagers who force themselves into his life. He had never spent more than a week in a town but one girl named Ally was making it hard for him to leave.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally.

* * *

Dirty Jean Jacket

Prologue

"Hey kid, you can't sleep here." An officer lightly whacked him with the back of his hand. Austin jumped, stirring from his deep slumber. He flinched when his tired eyes were blinded by the light of the police officer's flashlight. He groaned and sat up from his spot on the park bench. It was two in the morning and the park was completely empty, excluding himself and the officer that had woken him. "You need to go home, kid. It's late."

"Oh, yeah. Sure, sorry." Austin grumbled out, blinking sleep out of his eyes. He got up the park bench and crouched down into a squat. He grabbed his backpack out from under the bench and threw it over his shoulder. He waved the officer goodbye and walked off, pretending he didn't notice the suspicious looks the cop was giving him.

His jeans were worn and covered in tears and holes, his wrinkled grey sweatshirt was faded and had various tears on it. The hood was thin and covered in muck. His favorite jean jacket was in slightly better shape than the rest of his clothing but was stained and covered in dirt. He had bought it with some money he was bale to scrounge a few years ago for the winter. The sleeves were made of black leather and was by far the most valuable piece of clothing he had ever owned. His red converse were falling apart and were caked in dirt and grime. He himself was dirty, his hair was a mop of tangled blonde tresses. He was filthy from head to toe, even his backpack was nasty.

He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and turned down and old alleyway behind an empty building. He needed to find a place where the police couldn't find him. Austin tried the door of the abandoned building. It was locked. He pulled out a pin and picked the lock. Austin smiled when he heard a clicking sound. He opened the door and slipped in. It was empty and the walls were bare. He threw his bag down and laid on the floor, using the bag as a pillow. Hopefully, the police wouldn't find him here. He got lucky that the cop hadn't dragged him to the station on the spot. He definitely would have if he knew that Austin had no home. He had no family either, not that he knew of.

Austin was a homeless orphan. He had no friends, no home, no family, and almost no money. His earliest memory was of his foster father beating him half to death with a metal bat when he was three. He had spent nearly two months in the hospital in a coma. Austin spent his life in and out of a rundown orphanage in Chicago, switching foster families, up until he was ten when he ran away. The other children there were harsh and the older kids bullied the younger ones. Austin was beaten by them almost as bad as he was by his foster father. The other foster families weren't much better. They were dysfunctional and the foster family often forgot that he was even there. He knew that no one was ever going to come adopt him, so he left there and took charge of what little of a life he had.

He became a wanderer. Austin traveled around the country, never staying in one town for more than a week. He walked everywhere, unable to afford bus fair, let alone a car. He made what money he could by singing on the street corners. He didn't have an instrument so he had to make due with what he could find on the streets to make music. People seemed to like him enough to give him a good amount of money. His voice wasn't all that bad. He thought he was actually kinda good.

Every day was a struggle to find food and stay alive. The street life was cruel and hard but it was better than an orphanage. It was all he knew. He met tons of people but never made a real friend. He had seen dozens of cities and had been in nearly every state, but never had a real home. Austin wasn't depressed or angry with his life, though. He made due with what he had. He did his best to look at the world with a positive outlook and enjoy every moment he had. He didn't know when he'd be dead, so he made every second count.

He was seventeen now, almost an adult. He had seen practically the entire country and even parts of Canada. Now, he found himself in Miami, Florida. He had actually been there before when he was fourteen. Austin decided to come back. He wanted to see the ocean. He wanted to smell that salty air and feel the sand in between his toes.

He thought only of the beach when he crossed the border into Florida. He had no idea how much his life would change when he got there. He wasn't planning on making friends or finding a home. He was a humble, lost child without a purpose and that's how he lived his life. He had no clue how much three people would change his very existence.

Austin Moon had never been in love and never thought he would be, until he met Ally Dawson and got sucked into her crazy, beautiful world.

* * *

The Prologue everyone. I don't know where this idea came from but it's in writing now and I hope you like it.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do no own Austin and Ally.

* * *

Dirty Jean Jacket

Chapter 1

Austin woke to the sound of chirping birds. Bright sunlight poured into the window, hitting him straight in the eye. He groaned from his spot on the dirty floor. He didn't get all that much sleep, but that was something he was used to. It was just something to expect when one lived somewhere new every day. With a yawn, he stretched his body, working out all the sleep ridden kinks. Austin stood up off the floor and bent backwards a bit, effectively popping his stiff back.

"Good morning!" He shouted to no one, his voice bouncing off the empty walls. Austin grinned and grabbed his backpack off the floor. He slung it comfortably onto his back. "Next stop, Miami Beach." Austin walked out of the house and began heading towards his destination. He had about a full day's walk ahead of him, but he didn't mind. He liked walking.

Loneliness was something that Austin had learn how to cope with. He had met other drifters and they had even partnered up for a while, but they would always end up parting ways. It was easier for the police to tell if you were a homeless minor when there was more than one. Having a backpack over both your shoulders during mid summer wasn't exactly inconspicuous. He spent most of his life completely alone and had taken to talking to himself. Austin didn't actually believe someone would answer him, he just liked hearing a voice, even if it was his.

Cars flew by as he walked on the sidewalk, his hands shoved in his favorite jean jacket. He happily hummed to himself, the latest tune he heard from the radio stuck in his head. It was a beautiful day out. Blue, cloudless skies and just a slight breeze in the summer heat to keep him comfortable. Of course, it was easy for him to be comfortable. He had grown incredibly tolerant to both heat and cold. It was something he had to pick up if he wanted to survive. Montana would have been a whole lot worse on him otherwise. The weather was perfect, lifting his spirits. He really loved tropical areas, especially ones with beaches.

He got a few strange looks from passing people walking the sidewalk, but he ignored them, having gotten used to the looks a long time ago. They couldn't help it, really. He was covered in dirt from head to toe. A wanderer's life was a dirty life. Austin looked around at the different types of people. Each place always had various mixes of people and he loved people watching. Florida seemed to have a good mix. He must be close to the beach, though. A lot of the women had on shorts and just a bikini top. A lot of the people were well tanned and bore shades. Maybe he should invest in one of his own. Florida _is_ pretty sunny.

The sun was beginning to set by time he saw sand. The beach was mostly empty now, everyone having headed home. Austin jogged a bit, anxious to get to the beach. He could smell the salty air. He was loving it. He loved the ocean and he loved the beach. He wish he could learn how to surf. It looked like a lot of fun.

His converse shoes finally met sand. Austin grinned like a loon. He quickly pulled off his shoes and shoved them in his backpack, not caring that he was getting sand everywhere. He sighed in satisfaction when his bare feet met the sandy ground. It was still warm. He walked the beach, moving to a more deserted part where few people went even during the day. Austin headed towards the water, wanting nothing more but so throw himself in it.

Austin took off his backpack and let it drop on the sand. He stripped off his favorite jacket, not wanting it to get wet, and put it with his backpack. He kept walking forward, toward the moving water. The salty liquid hit his feet. He stood there for a moment, enjoying the feeling. The water was a little warm. It felt great against his nature beaten skin. He couldn't wait any longer. Austin charged forward and jumped into the water. He was soaked in seconds.

He must've swam for hours. It was pitch black now and was still in the water. Austin was floating on his back, looking up at the dark sky. He loved swimming at night. He floated in the water with his eyes closed, enjoying himself. He had swam himself ragged to the point that he couldn't swim anymore. Austin was exhausted now. Finally he left the water, walking back to the shore.

Water dripped off of his soaked body. His thin grey sweat shirt was clinging to small frame like a magnet and his wet jeans felt like they were five pounds heavier. He shook the water off like a dog. He found an outdoor shower and sprayed the salt water off of him. He couldn't remember the last time he had a shower. The water was cold but it felt nice. He gathered up his stuff and found a nice flat rock. He shook himself out a little more and laid on the rock.

He felt content. The dirt had been washed off his body and now he felt a little cleaner. He was going to smell like salt but he didn't mind. He took his shoes out of his backpack and put them back on. He was still wet so he opted the idea of his putting his jean jacket back on. Austin set it aside, close to him so he wouldn't lose it. His backpack became his pillow once again. Austin was out like a light within minutes, falling asleep to the sound of waves.

~0~

People swarmed all around him, making him feel a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't as bad as New York was, but he wasn't used to people. Austin had wandered from the beach and found himself walking into the Miami Mall. The place was busy and it smelled amazing. When was the last time he ate? He couldn't remember. There were so many stores and so many smells, he felt a little dizzy.

Austin wandered around until he found a store that interested him. He wasn't to buy anything, obviously, and he wasn't going to steal either. He was above that, he was just going to look. He walked into the store called Sonic Boom, spotting a guitar on one of the shelves. It was a beautiful acoustic. It was his dream to own a guitar like that. Every instrument looked amazing and pricey. Austin frowned a bit. This was one the downsides of being a drifter; he would never be able to afford something nice like one these amazing instruments.

"Can I help you, sir?" Austin jumped at the unexpected voice. He turned around and was met with the sight of a young beautiful girl. She must have been about his age. She had brown, wavy hair, brown eyes, and her skin was a flawless porcelain. She was wearing a floral orange dress with a small white jacket. her heels were a teal color and she was wearing quite a bit of jewelry.

"You scared the crap out of me." Austin said, gripping his beating heart.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" She asked frantically.

Austin nodded, showing the girl he was fine. "Do you always scare you're customers like that? You're pretty good at it."

"No, I usually never do that to people. I was just asking if you needed anything. I didn't mean to sneak up on you." She said.

"I was just looking." Austin chuckled out.

"Oh, okay. Sorry for bothering you." She said awkwardly.

"It's cool. You were just doing your job." Austin said. He held out his hand to her. "I'm Austin."

"Ally." She said with a smile, taking his hand. They did a quick shake and let go. "I've never seen you around here, are you new?" She asked curiously.

Austin shrugged. "I'm here visiting relatives." He lied smoothly. That was usually always his cover when someone asked what he was doing in whatever place he was at. It was believable and few people ever questioned it.

"Hey, Ally, who's he?" A Latina girl yelled as she walked over to them. She was about the same height as Ally, maybe a little taller, and had black, tightly curled hair. She was wearing a lot of animal print.

"Hi, Trish. I was just helping out a customer, who didn't need help." Ally said.

Trish raised a curious eyebrow. "He doesn't need help so you're helping him?" She questioned.

"She accidentally scared me when she asked if I needed help so she's apologizing for scaring me instead of actually helping." Austin said. He furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion. "Wait, is that right?" He thought out loud. "Yeah, yeah that's right."

"And you are?" Trish eyed him suspiciously.

"Trish, don't be rude. This is Austin. He's here visiting family." Ally said.

Austin waved at the dark haired girl. He jumped again when a loud crash erupted from the other side of the room. A tall, redheaded boy with checkered black and white pants, a yellow button down shirt and orange suspenders was sprawled out on the floor, his leg caught in a tuba.

"Dez! What are you doing?" Ally screeched.

"I don't know how this happened." Dez deadpanned from his spot on the floor.

Trish pointed at him, laughing. "Dez lost to a tuba."

"Trish, you're not helping. Help me get him up." Ally said.

The two girls helped lift the redhead off the floor, the tuba still stuck to his foot. Austin couldn't help but inwardly laugh at the sight. What a strange group of friends. He wondered if this was normal for everyday teenagers. Something told him it wasn't. The redhead hopped around the store, attempting to shake off the instrument.

"Dez, careful. I don't want you breaking _another_ tuba." Ally yelled after him.

"Hey, pretty boy," Trish yelled at Austin. "You mind helping?"

Austin gave her a confused look, wondering if she was actually asking him for help, thrown off the strange nickname. Her angry glare got him moving, telling him that she was, in fact, talking to him. He jogged over to Dez, who had fallen again, and grabbed the tuba. He shifted it a bit on his foot and pulled it straight off. Ally gratefully took the tuba from him and put it back on the shelf.

Dez used the counter as leverage and pulled himself back up in a standing position. He warily eyed the blonde and asked, "Who's the hunk?"

Austin raised a confused eyebrow at the redhead. Hunk? Was he talking about him? He had never been called a hunk before. Austin never considered himself to be all that good looking. He knew he wasn't ugly but the word "hunk" was pushing it. This Dez person must've bumped his head when he fell.

"That's Austin." Ally said.

Dez looked at Austin, still suspicious. "Austin who?"

"Austin Moon." The blonde answered.

"I don't believe we've met before." Dez said.

"He's visiting family, he's not from around here." Ally answered for him.

"Where you from, then?" Trish asked as she and Ally walked over to the two boys.

"Chicago." Austin said. "But my family travels around a lot."

"Whoa, Chicago? That's so cool!" Dez said excitement, jumping up and down.

"Calm down, Doofus." Trish said in annoyance.

"Are you okay, Austin? You look a bit uncomfortable." Ally asked.

"I'm fine, but I should probably be leaving. I'll see you guys around." Austin said slowly, unsure of the sanity of the three. He left the store and sped walked out the mall, overwhelmed by people for the day. They were nice and everything, but they were a bit much for someone like him, who isn't used to human company at all. He left the mall and went in search of an abandoned building to crash in.

~0~

"You two scared him away." Ally said.

"It's not my fault he can't handle being in the same room as Dez." Trish said.

"Yeah! Wait. Hey!" Dez shouted.

"He seemed really nice." Ally said as she cleaned up the counter.

"Not to mention that he was hot." Trish said, wiggling her eyebrows at Ally.

"He was," Ally said dreamily. "You think he likes music?"

"Probably, he did walk into a music store." Trish said.

"I bet he does, but just can't help but wonder why he had a backpack." She said.

"Who knows and who cares. Dez carries a backpack around all the time." Trish pointed out.

"I guess that's true, but did you see the way he reacted when Dez called him a hunk? It's like he's never been complimented before." Ally said.

"Yeah, I did notice that. I called him pretty boy and he looked like he thought I was talking to a monkey." Trish said.

"He's kinda strange, but I like him. He smelled like salt water, though. Which was a bit weird." Ally said.

"Austin probably went to the beach earlier." Trish said.

"He's from Chicago." Dez said with a grin.

The two girls looked at him with annoyed faces. "We know, Dez."

* * *

Austin found a large, Victorian home. It was falling apart and it looked like no one had been living there for nearly a decade. He slipped through the back, just in case someone was watching. It was dusty and the wood creaked loudly with every step. There were holes in the walls and he could stains on the ceiling from water leaks. The stairs leading to the second story looked like they were about to fall to pieces at any moment.

Austin grinned, he liked it.

The building was probably beautiful when it was first built. he could see the ghost of what it looked like in every room. The faded, expensive wallpaper and the hand carved wooden stairwell, whispered the past beauty of the home. There was an old, worn, ratty couch sitting in the living room. He threw his bag on it. He cautiously sat down on it. It creaked and groaned under his weight but held.

He smiled and laid down on the filthy piece of furniture. The cushions were worn and the springs were rusted, but Austin was comfortable. He sprawled his body out, content with his new run down adobe. The couch creaked loudly again. This time, he could hear something shifting. He sat up a little, his face etched with worry.

_Crash_

The tiny legs holding the couch up suddenly snapped all at once. Austin jumped as the entire couch shifted downwards. Bits of wood flew out from underneath him. The force of the couch's fall kicked up dust. He carefully sat up the broken furniture as the dust cleared. he looked down at the broken legs. They were shattered beyond repair. The couch's underbelly was laying fully on the floor now. Austin smiled and began laughing. He still technically had a couch, so he didn't care.

* * *

Chapter 1 everyone. Austin meets Ally, Trish, and Dez. Thank's so much for the reviews so far, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally.

* * *

Dirty Jean Jacket

Chapter 2

Every cabinet door in the kitchen stood open in the old rundown Victorian house. Inside the cabinets were a few plates, glasses and the occasional can of food. Everything was coated in a thick layer or dust. There were a few handprints and smears in the dust from the boy that was rummaging through the cabinets. Austin grabbed a dusty can and wiped the dust off the label; cream corn. With a disgusted face, he threw the can over his shoulder and grabbed another can. Cream corn again. He chucked it over his shoulder just like the other one. He found another can and dusted that one.

"Cream corn, cream corn, what's with all the cream corn?" He yelled to himself, throwing the can. He hated cream corn. Well, he just hated corn in general. So far, every can that he found was cream corn.

He slammed the cabinet door shut. It bounced against the wood and creaked back open. "Stupid house and its stupid cream corn." He grumbled under his breath. He gave up on the cabinets and decided to see what was upstairs. He had already explored the downstairs, finding a large room, a bathroom and a hallway that lead to what looked like an office. Or at least, it used to be. All the rooms were empty excluding a few random objects that gave him a clue as to what they were used for. The bathroom was obvious: a toilet, counter, and a broken mirror. He found a dresser in the bedroom and the office had what looked like an computer desk along with a metal filing cabinet that was rusted beyond belief. Bored with the downstairs, he left the kitchen and passed through the living room were the couch he had broken laid. Austin looked up the creaky stairs. All he could see was wood and a wall with peeling wallpaper.

Austin tested the rail, finding that it swayed when he touched it. He left it alone and tested the first step. It creaked a bit but held true. He smiled a little and went up another step. The stairwell creaked but stayed stable. Austin took a few more steps up the stairs, his smile growing larger with every stair that held him. Once he got up the stairs, he inspected the area. The upstairs split into two separate hallways. Austin could see a bedroom at each end. There was a closet door in the left hallway and an open door that lead to a bathroom in the right.

He spent nearly four hours upstairs, going through every room and looking in every door. There were a few left over pieces of furniture and the upstairs bathroom mirror was in much better shape than the one downstairs. The closet was completely empty, except for mouse droppings. There was barely anything in the house and his exploration was met with disappointment.

The blonde was about ready to go downstairs when something caught his eye. On the ceiling, was what looked like a small door. A small, barely noticeable chain hung from the little door. "What do we have here?" With a grin, he grabbed the chain and pulled. A small of stairs came down, leading up an attic.

Ever so carefully, he made his way up the stairs. They protested loudly under his weight. The attic was even dustier than the rest of the house. Cobwebs were in every corner of the room. The only light that came through was from a octagon shaped window in the center of the far wall. It was dark out now and it was a bit hard to see in the attic, his only light being the moon. He looked down and grinned at what was on the floor. Various, dust covered boxes were sitting randomly throughout the room. They looked like they hadn't been touched in ages. Most of the boxes were standard cardboard boxes while others were wooden chests. Austin vaguely wondered who used live in this house.

He kneeled in front of one of the chests and found that it was unlocked. He sat down on the dusty floor and opened the chest. There was random articles of clothing and bed sheets. He had no bed and the clothes were for a woman, making them useless to him. Austin shut the chest and moved to the other one. He found more sheets and a few pieces of what he suspected were doilies. Austin was about to give up on that chest when something shiny caught his eye. It was coming from the very bottom of the chest. He dug down, throwing the sheets out the way to get to whatever was at the bottom.

It was a necklace. A whistle necklace. It was a silver tube whistle and it was in great shape, which was something that he found surprising, it looked like it was vintage. There was a intricately carved full moon in the center of the metal whistle. He dusted it off a bit and put it around his neck. Austin put the whistle in his mouth and blew. The high pitched sound echoed throughout the attic. Austin opened his mouth, letting the piece of metal fall back onto his chest, and grinned. He was _so_ keeping it.

The blonde's stomach growled in hunger, alerting its owner that it was empty. Austin cringed a bit, trying to remember the last time he had a nice meal. Never. He shut the chest and made his way down the stairs. His stomach growled once more. He almost tripped, his foot stepping onto a thrown can of cream corn. Austin took his foot off of it and looked down at its label.

"Why did it have to be cream corn?" He asked no one. He bent down and picked the can up. Austin sighed in defeat. He didn't steal, not unless he absolutely had to. It was his last resort. He only had about forty dollars and he needed that cash for other essentials. The blonde originally had eighty dollars but spent it on food. Austin couldn't afford to spend all his money on one thing. He was hungry and he really didn't have much of a choice.

With the can in hand, he walked over to the broken couch and sat down. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a can opener-one of the best investments of his life. Austin sighed, staring at the can for a few moments. "You better not be poisonous." He grumbled to the can. He ground the can open and threw the lid behind him. The metal clanged against the wooden floor.

He took and whiff of the can's contents and wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Oh great," He drawled sarcastically, "It's good."

~0~

"Dez, put that down!" Ally yelled in a sharp whisper, not wanting to alert an employee. "I don't want us to get thrown out."

The redhead put down the store manikin he was dancing with and fixed her hair. "Sorry." He said.

Trish shook her head at Dez's antics. "We really need to find him a friend." She said.

"We're his friends." Ally said.

"A _male_ friend. Someone who will actually do all that crazy stuff that he does with him." Trish specified. "We never get to go out with just the two of us anymore. "

"What about that Austin kid?" Ally suggested. "I bet they would get along really well."

"Yeah, except that we only just met him and he doesn't live here. Besides, we might not ever see him again." Trish argued.

"Hey, guys! Look, It's Austin!" Dez yelled at that them, pointing across the street from the store they were at. Austin was walking along the sidewalk, his hands shoved in his jacket. He seemed content with himself as walked alone. Dez waved at him. "Hey, Austin! Over here!"

The blonde slowed his walk, looking over to see who was yelling at him. He looked confused, like he didn't know why Dez was yelling at him. He gave a slow wave back. Dez's eyebrow went up in confusion when Austin didn't come over to say hi. Instead, the blonde kept walking, his backpack bouncing a bit as he walked.

"Hey, wait!" Dez ran out into the street, barely dodging traffic as he scrambled to get to Austin.

"Dez, are crazy?" Ally yelled at him.

Austin stood on the sidewalk and watched in horror as the redhead ran to him. He stared at Dez with wide, shocked eyes once the taller boy reached him.

Dez heaved for air when he came to stop, in front of the blonde. "Hey." He said.

"Are you nuts? You could have been killed." Austin asked.

"I had to get you to stop somehow." Dez said.

"You didn't have put your life in danger to do it, though." Austin shot back.

Ally and Trish carefully ran across the road, going when there was break in traffic. "Dez, you almost caused a wreck." Trish said as they reached the boys.

"Hi, Austin." Ally said.

Austin forced a smile. "Hi." He said with an awkward wave.

"So," Ally said. "What brings you out here?"

"Just checking out the town." Austin shrugged. "What're you guys doing?"

"Clothes shopping." Trish answered.

"And Dez went you guys?" Austin asked.

"Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?" Dez said.

"It's a women's store that only sells women's clothing." Austin pointed out. "Don't you have any guy friends to hang out with?"

Before Dez could answer, Trish pushed the redhead closer to Austin. "He does now. You two have fun. Ally and I are going to go have some girl time, see ya!" Trish grabbed Ally's wrist and dragged her away from the boys.

"Whoa, hey wait a minute!" Austin yelled after the girls.

"Bye!" Dez yelled. He turned to Austin, a cheesy grin spread across his face. "Looks like it's just us now."

"I guess so." Austin said, unsure about how he felt about being stuck with the redhead.

"So, what do want to do?" Dez asked.

"I don't know. What do you do for fun around here?" Said Austin.

"We can go to my house and play video games." Dez suggested.

Austin bit his lip, sucking in air as he did so. "Eeh, I don't know."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun!" Dez insisted, jumping up an down like a five-year old.

"Are you sure?" Austin asked.

"Of course I am. Why not? Come on, you'll love it." Dez said.

"Fine." The blonde breathed out.

"Yay!" Dez ran the other direction, heading to what Austin suspected was where his house was.

The blonde walked after the taller boy, silently debating if it was a good idea to go to his house. He hadn't planned on becoming friends with anyone when he came to Miami. He knew there would be no point. They were from completely different worlds and Austin would be gone when his week here was over. He had nothing against the three, in fact, he actually like them. They were a bit crazy, but they seemed like really nice people.

Austin watched the excited redhead ramble on about a video game that he had never heard of. Austin had never played a video game in his entire life. Video games costed money that he didn't have. He smiled at the sight of Dez's cheesy grin. He wondered if he never had a friend outside of Trish and Ally. Something told him he didn't.

"We're here." Dez said, interrupting Austin's train of thought.

Austin's eyes went wide at the sight of Dez's house. It was a simple two-story home. The lawn was well trimmed and there wasn't a spec of trash in sight. The home was rather beautiful and the paint looked almost new. It was an average upper middle-class home and it was nothing like what Austin was used to.

They walked in the front door, Austin took in every bit of the house with an uncertain eye. The front door had a small stain glass window in it. Inside, the foyer was well polished wood. Dez kicked off his shoes there, leaving them with other pairs. Austin followed suit, unsure on what else to do. The carpet in the living room was clean with a few stains here and there. There was a leather couch and loveseat to match it. They looked like they were a bit worn but still in good shape. Pictures decorated the walls, showing Dez's family. He could see the kitchen's hard floors and the dining table.

"Come on, the T.V.'s downstairs." Dez said.

Austin hesitantly followed him down a set of carpeted stairs. He grabbed onto the railing, finding that it didn't sway or creak under his grip. The stairs didn't groan under him. All he could hear was the sound of his and Dez's footsteps. The carpet felt nice in his socked feet. He never felt a carpet so plush in his life.

"Whoa." Austin gasped. Dez's T.V. was a huge flatscreen mounted on the wall and it was surrounded by large speakers. He could recall some of his foster families had T.V.'s as well but they were much smaller and not as nearly as nice. The orphanage didn't have one, not for the kids at least. He remembered that the caretaker had on in her private quarters, but no one was aloud in there but her. He had seen flatscreen televisions on display before but he had never actually been able to see one up close like now.

"You like it?" Dez asked with a grin.

"This is so awesome!" Austin said like a giddy child.

"Wait until I turn it on." Dez said. He grabbed a remote and suddenly, the T.V. came to life. Austin watched in fascination as Dez set of a gaming system. Dez called it an Xbox. Austin had heard about them but had never actually seen one. He played with the controller Dez handed him, hitting the colorful buttons. Dez kicked on the game and turned on the stereo system.

Austin jumped from his spot on the plush couch positioned in front of the T.V. He scrambled onto the back of it as a loud noise suddenly blasted from the speakers. He panicked, dropping the controller. He gripped the couch with his fists, attempting to keep himself from completely losing it.

"Austin? Hey, what's wrong." Dez said hurriedly, trying to calm the frantic blonde.

He looked at the redhead through a haze of panic, unsure what to do. Growing up, he had never been around speakers. They were foreign to him. In all honesty, he should have known that he would freak out the first time he heard them. It didn't help that Dez had turned them up so loud. The whole room seemed to be vibrating.

Dez turned down the speakers, realizing what was causing Austin such severe distress. "Dude, it's alright. It's just the speakers. Calm down." Dez put a steady hand on Austin's arm. He pulled just a little, attempting to get the blonde to sit back down on the couch cushion. Austin let him move him back. He sat back on the couch, calmer but still a bit stirred up. "You alright?" Dez asked.

Austin nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting the uh...yeah." He nervously murmured.

"God, you act like you've never been around a speaker before." Dez tried to joke with a grin.

"I, uh. I haven't" Austin confessed.

Dez's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Really." Austin nervously picked the controller off the floor.

"Wow," Dez said, amazed. "Have you ever played a video game before?" He asked.

Austin shook his head. "No."

"Wow," Said Dez, awed. "You must live one heck of sheltered life."

"That's one way to put it." Austin said discretely.

"No worries. I'll teach you all you need to know about video games. We'll just keep the volume low until you can get used to it." Dez said with a grin.

Austin grinned back. "Okay."

"I'll show you one of my favorite games. It's a lot of fun and it's really easy to learn how to play." Dez said, showing Austin the button's on the blonde's controller. He went through what all the buttons did. Austin picked up on it pretty quickly and soon, they were playing.

It was the first time Austin had ever played a video game and it was the first time he had ever sat in a normal home. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he didn't have to be worried about food or money or where he would sleep that night. He actually felt like a normal teenage boy, something he had never experienced in his life.

He and Dez were laughing and carrying on in a way that Austin had never done. They stayed up all night playing video games. Once Austin got the hang of it, he began to love it. Dez eventually turned up the speakers, Austin having gotten used to the loud noise. They played together like they had known each other their entire lives. He had just met Dez just over twenty-four hours ago but it already felt like they were best friends. That was something Austin never had before.

A best friend.

* * *

Here you are. Chapter two. Again, thank you so much for all the reviews. You guys are awesome. There's some bonding time with Austin and Dez. More to come in later chapters. I hope this chapter lives up to you're expectations and enjoy.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally

* * *

Dirty Jean Jacket

Chapter 3

_"Wake up, Austin!" A childish voice screamed into the blonde's ear. He jolted awake and immediately threw a fist at the owner of the annoying voice. Austin felt his fist connect with something and he heard a yelp of pain follow after. He was tired and he hurt. He just wanted to stay in bed and be left alone. Austin curled up into a little ball under the thin sheets in an attempt to block everything out._

_"Austin! Get up!" Suddenly, his bed was being flipped over. He hit the wooden floor head on with a painful thud. Austin groaned in agony, his already sore body hurting even more. The wood looked darker than usual, since the sun had yet to rise._

_Anger flared inside him as the initial pain wore off. He pushed his bed off of him and began to yell. "Trent! You ass, why did you do that?"_

_The dark, nine year-old grinned down at him, his eyes full of __mischief. "I was bored and everyone else is still asleep. Let's go play!" Trent belted out, happy as ever and uncaring that it was so early._

_Austin glared at him. He considered Trent to be his one and only friend, they looked out for each other in the orphanage but sometimes Austin hated the other boy's guts, more so than the older kids that beat and bullied him. He tended to be rude and selfish and he always went back on his word. There wasn't much the young blonde could do about it, though, he had no one else.  
_

_He sighed and stood up. Austin dusted off his ratty clothes and looked up at his friend. "Fine, what do you want to do?" He droned tiredly, hating the fact that he had been woken up before the sun had risen. _

_"Let's sneak out and go to the railroad tracks." Trent said, already pushing the other nine year-old out of the room._

_"What? Are you crazy? I don't want to get in trouble again." Austin protested._

_Trent continued to push the blonde, moving him down the old rickety flights of stars. Their small room was on the fourth floor and Austin had already lost count of how many times he had fallen down the stairs just from Trent's eagerness to get down them._

_"No we won't, trust me. I know what I'm doing."_

_"You say that every time. We always get caught and what's so great about the railroad tracks, anyway? Why do you like going there so much?" Austin asked as he walked down the stairs, still being urged by Trent._

_"It's better than being here and besides, I heard a train come in last night, maybe we'll be able to see it." Trent said with excitement. _

_"We all heard it go through." Austin grumbled in annoyance. He never understood Trent's love for trains. They were big, loud and they shook the rundown orphanage every time they went by. The railroad station was only a few blocks from the the orphanage and the railroad tracks were quite literally in the back yard. Trent seemed to love trains yet Austin had come to hate them with a burning passion._

_"Just trust me!" Trent insisted. They finally reached the bottom of the stairs. They carefully opened the front door, making sure that it wouldn't squeak. They quietly slipped out of the orphanage and shut the door in silence. Austin hated Trent for moments like this one, it just never ended well._

* * *

"Austin, breakfast! AAHH!" Dez squealed in pain when Austin's fist connected with his nose. He stumbled back, not expecting the blow. The redhead stared, wide-eyed at the still sleeping blonde. It was morning. They had fallen asleep playing video games last night and they had both ended up crashed on the couch. Dez had woken up first and decided to make them breakfast.

The blonde looked like he was out cold and now Dez wasn't so sure if he should try to wake him up. He tenderly groped his sore nose, thankful that the blow hadn't caused it to bleed. The redhead stared at the still passed out teen, wondering why the hell Austin had punched him.

He timidly poked at Austin's cheek. "Hey, I made food. Wake up." He whispered, almost scared about the outcome if Austin _did_ wake up.

The blonde groaned and swatted Dez's hand away. "Too early." Austin grumbled in his sleep.

Dez pouted, upset that he couldn't get Austin to wake up. He guessed the blonde just wasn't a morning person. Dez's eyes lit up when an idea suddenly came to mind. He ran upstairs and grabbed the plate of fresh pancakes off the counter. He took a long whiff of the delectable food. Oh yeah, no way in hell would these _not_ wake Austin up.

He ran back down the stairs and crouched in front of the couch were the blonde was still passed out. "Austin," Dez sang out, shoving the plate under the blonde's nose. "pancakes!"

The teen stirred, catching whiff of the pancakes. Austin's eyes fluttered open, his gaze drawn to the plate of food. Dez couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Austin's confused face when he saw the plate. His groggy eyes couldn't look away. Austin sat up, still eyeing the plate. "Pan-what" The blonde teen asked groggily.

"Pancakes, dude. Please tell me you've had them before." Dez said.

"I have!" Austin defended himself. "When I was twelve." He grumbled.

Dez stared at him disbelief. "I can't believe you've never had pancakes, what's wrong with you? You've never been around a stereo system either, what the hell? What's next, you're going to tell me you've never been to the movies?" Dez grumbled, unable to wrap his mind around the fact that Austin seemed so sheltered.

"I've had them before!" Austin argued before answering the redhead's question. I snuck into a drive-in once, does that count?" Austin asked, dead serious.

Dez pulled back from the blonde as if he had been slapped. His eyes were wide with total and complete astonishment. "Are you pulling my leg or something?" He asked.

Austin shook his head. "No."

Dez shook his head in disbelief. "You have got to be the most sheltered person I have ever met."

"Sorry?" Austin said.

In all honesty, Austin's life was far from sheltered, he just never got to live the luxuries of everyday people. He never really had true pancakes because they were almost never served at the orphanage. Their breakfasts consisted of a cold bowl of bland oatmeal with a glass of water. Even when he was on the road, he never really got one. He recalled a time when Trent tried to make one with old pancake batter he found in the trash, a small fire, and a pan they used to break things open with. It was runny on the inside and practically charred on the outside. It was disgusting and it took nearly a week for the blonde to get the horrible taste out of his mouth. He had seen them and heard of them, but often times forgot about their existence. He honestly didn't like them, they looked plain and unappetizing and a fluffy tortilla always came to mind when he thought of pancakes. He was always too scared to go into a diner when he had money-he didn't want to spend what little money he had anyways- and he never begged anyone to buy him food. Pancakes, a universal food that seemed to grace every class of people, was beyond Austin's reach. It was a bit sad, but it was hard to miss something he never really had.

"Sooo," Austin drawled out, awkwardly. "Can I have one now?"

Dez held out the plate to the blonde. Austin cautiously plucked one off the plate. He eyed it for a moment, wondering why people seemed to love the strange pastry so much. It looked so bland. Well, he's had worse. With a shrug, the teen took a bite. He chewed for a minute, letting the flavor cover his tongue. His chewing slowed as his eyes got wide. "Oh my god, these are amazing!" He said. Austin another huge bite, not even caring that Dez was laughing at him.

Austin ended up eating a total of nine pancakes before his stomach finally screamed at him to stop. He was amazed his small stomach hadn't protested sooner. He barely ever got a chance to eat so much and it usually made him sick if he tried to. The pancakes seemed to have no trouble settling in his food deprived organ. Pancakes were officially his favorite food.

"Dude, you need a shower." Dez said after they had finished eating.

"Do I stink that bad?" Austin asked with a grin, only partially joking.

"You're covered in dirt and you smell like salt water."

"I didn't bring anything to change into." Austin said.

"That's okay. I'll just let you wear some of my stuff and we can take what you're wearing and throw it in the washing machine." Dez said.

"Are you sure?" Austin asked skeptically. He couldn't remember the last time he had a decent shower. If he ever had one.

"Of course I am." Dez led him to the bathroom and showed the blonde where the towels were. Dez stepped out of the bathroom so Austin could disrobe. He put a towel around his waist and handed Dez his clothes through the barely opened door. Dez had to nearly come in there to pry the jacket from Austin's hands. The blonde didn't want to separate from it. It was the most valuable thing he owned and he worked hard to earn the money he spent on it. "I'll be downstairs, yell if you need anything." Dez said.

"Okay." Austin grumbled. He felt off without his jacket around his shoulders. He rubbed his bare biceps and looked about the large bathroom. It was the nicest one he had ever been in and it smelled good. His eyes widened when his eyes landed on his reflection in the large mirror. He frowned at the sight, his eyes darkened. Even through the layer of dirt on skin, he could still see them.

The scars.

His body was littered with them. Austin pulled back his hair, exposing the edge of an ugly scar that ran into his hair-line on the left side of his forehead. It was the one that put him in a coma, given to him by his foster father. He couldn't really remember what happened that night, but the evidence was left on his skin.

He turned away from the mirror, not wanting to see the scars that marred the rest of his body, especially the ones on his back. His entire past was physically present all over his body. Every bad moment that he had ever experienced had a spot on his skin, forcing him to never forget the memories. Life as a wanderer wasn't easy and it dealt its damage on him.

Austin shoved away the memories the sight of his scars brought and focused his mind on the shower. He looked at the two dials with confusion. Shit, they were different from the ones that were at the orphanage. He toyed with the dials until he got water to run out of the nozzle. Once the stream was strong enough, he played with the dials until he got the water to a comfortable temperature.

He grinned as the warm water streamed through his fingers. When was the last time he got to feel hot water like this? He couldn't remember. It took him a couple minutes, but he eventually figured out to turn the shower head on. Austin let the towel around his waist fall. He stepped into the stream of water. A wide grin pulled at his lips.

He couldn't stop the laughter and pure joy that course through his body as the streams of water soaked his skin. He cupped his hands and caught some of the water. The blonde found himself fascinated by the brown stream of water that spiraled down the drain. Dirt fell off his frame, exposing the tanned skin underneath. He had kinda excepted that the dirt was his skin.

Austin ran his hands through his soaked locks. Streams of dirty water seeped out of his scalp. He laughed at the sight, half wondering if is hair would look any brighter with all the dirt and muck washed out of it. Austin found the soap, shampoo and conditioner. He got to work washing away the dirt, laughing the entire time.

~0~

Dez waited patiently for Austin to change into the clothes he gave him. Luckily, their sizes were close enough. Dez was more than happy to supply his pants to the blonde. The redhead had to admit, though, Austin was strange. The teen had never been around speakers, he had basically never had a pancake, and Dez heard him laughing in the bathroom as if a hot shower was a luxury he never got. Dez couldn't help but wonder if that was actually the case. It would explain the layer of muck that was always present on the teen.

He was jolted out of his reverie when the bathroom door swung open. Austin stood there, grinning like a loon with a clean gray v-neck and blue skinny jeans on. He gasped a bit when he saw the teen's hair. His damp blonde locks now looked bleached. Obviously the dirt had added a few shades. Dez's eyes drifted to the whistle necklace around the blonde's neck.

"Whoa, that looks like something from the Victorian age. Where'd you get it?" Dez asked, awed by the piece of jewelry.

Austin played with the silver piece of metal in his hand. He treated it like it was a priceless diamond. "A hand-me-down." The teen said thoughtfully. He looked up, meeting eyes with the redhead. "Where's my jacket?" He asked.

"In the dryer." Dez answered.

"Can I have it?"

"I guess." Dez said warily. Jeez, Austin was really attached to that worn thing. He led the blonde to the washer and dryer. He popped open the still running dryer and pulled out the jacket. "It looks like it's still a little damp." Dez said.

Austin took the jacket from the redhead's hands. "That's okay," he said. He pulled his arms through the sleeves, immediately feeling ten times better when the familiar weight found its usual place on his shoulders. "I don't mind." Austin walked to the bathroom and looked at the now clean jacket. He grinned at the sight, not even caring that there were still very present stains on it or how its age showed through without the cover off all the dirt. He didn't care, he loved it all the same.

Dez eyed the teen, an unfamiliar emotion stirring within him. He liked Austin, he really did, but something was very off about the blonde. He wasn't normal, even by Dez's standards.

~0~

Ally hummed to herself as she dusted off the instruments, totally content with herself. Trish watched in boredom and munched on a bag of gummy worms. "Ally!" She moaned. "I'm boored!" Trish complained, perfectly imitating a five year-old.

The brunette girl rolled her eyes at her best friend. "You know, this would go a lot faster is you helped." Ally pointed out.

"Can't," Trish said. "I'm too busy killing off these gummy worms." She pulled out another gummy worm and ever so slowly stretched the worm out until it snapped to prove her point. Trish happily chewed on the candy. Ally shook her head and went back to dusting.

Dez walked into Sonic Boom and greeted the girls. "Hey, ladies!"

Trish made a muffled grumble, her mouth filled with gummy worms. Ally grinned at the redhead. "Hey, Dez! How was your night hanging out with Austin?"

"It was AWESOME!" Dez screeched with joy. "We stayed up all night playing video games in my basement!"

"Sounds fun!" Ally said, enthusiastic for Dez. Finally, he had a guy friend.

"Boring!" Trish drawled.

"It was so much fun!" Dez cheered.

"Where is blondie, anyways?" Trish asked.

Dez's grin faltered. "Yeah, about that."

Ally looked at Dez with concern. "Did something happen?"

"What, no, he just left. He said he had somewhere to be." Dez said.

"So what's the big deal?" Trish asked.

"Well, there's a few things I need to talk to you guys about." Dez said as he nervously played with the guitar picks on the counter.

"Like what?" Ally asked.

"Well, Austin-he, he did and said some things that just didn't seem...normal and it kinda didn't seem right to me." Dez's brows furrowed, as if he were struggling to find the right words to describe what he was trying to say.

"Dez, You're the last person who should be calling someone not normal." Trish said.

"No!" Dez argued. "A different kind of normal!"

"What do you mean?" Ally asked, confusion pulling at her. Dez wasn't making any sense.

The redhead huffed in frustration. His eyes narrowed in deep thought as he tried to find the right way to tell the girls what he saw. "Okay," he started. "when I turned on the stereo, Austin freaked out. Like literally freaked out; like he had never been around a stereo before. I seriously thought he was going to have a panic attack."

"You probably just had it on too loud." Trish cut in.

"There's more." Dez threw an accusing finger at Trish, not liking that he got interrupted. "He had never played _any _of the games we were playing, when we woke up the next morning, he punched me in the nose when I tried to wake him up-"

"He punched you?" Ally screeched in disbelief.

Trish pointed a finger at Dez and laughed. "He punched you!"

"Why did he punch you?" Ally asked.

Dez shrugged. "I don't know why. He was still asleep when he did it. I went to wake him up for breakfast and then he socked me in the nose like it was by instinct or something."

"Okay, so he's not a morning person." Trish said with a shrug, a smile still pulling at her lips.

"No, that's not all. He said he's hadn't had a pancake since he was twelve. He acted like it was made of freaking lard. I had to convince him to eat it and he told me he's never been to the movies, either. Well, apparently he snuck into a drive-in once but that doesn't really count. And then he took a shower and I heard him laughing like taking a shower was the greatest thing in the entire world. I also had to fight him to get his jacket off. He wouldn't take it off. I put it through the wash for him and before it was even fully dry, he put it on. It's like he's obsessed with it."

"He loves his jacket, so what?" Ally said.

"No, I'm going to have to agree with Dez on this one. That jacket is worn and dirty as hell." Trish said.

"So he's attached to his jacket and he hasn't experienced normal things like we have." Ally said.

"He's sheltered, big whoop." Trish said with a shrug.

"No, there's something off about it." Dez said.

"Maybe it's all the traveling?" Ally suggested.

"Traveling?" Trish questioned.

"Remember? Austin said his family traveled a lot, maybe that hindered him to experience some things."

"Maybe," Dez said skeptically.

"Wait, did you just agree with Dez?" Ally asked.

Trish's eyes widened in horror. "Oh god, I did!"

* * *

Guys, I'm so sorry I haven't uploaded in so long. I started college and I've been slammed with stress and the craziness that comes with it. I just haven't had time to type between college and my new job. I'm so sorry about that. I hope this latest chapter makes up for my absence and I swear I'm going to start uploading sooner again. So, enjoy and please tell me what you think.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally

* * *

Dirty Jean Jacket

Chapter 4

If there was one thing life had taught Austin, is was that there were rules to everything. Unspoken or blatantly written down, they were both immensely important. In the orphanage, all the rules were written. Pieces of faded and stained paper hung on the marked and cracked walls of the old building, dictating the way Austin had to live his day to day life.

He knew when to keep his mouth shut, when to obey and turn the other cheek. He knew who was in charge and he knew what he could and couldn't get away with. With the rules already in place and the additional unwritten ones made by the child hierarchy, Austin found himself at the bottom of the food chain, being constantly reminded of where he stood in the world. His age may not have even hit double digits at that point, but he had already come to understand the chaotic order that held everything together. It was a strange and rather ugly system, especially for a kid like him but Austin learned not to question the only bit of order in his life.

He may have hated the way things were with a burning passion, but he also knew there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. His life's rules wouldn't just change right then and there because he demanded it. All he could do was learn the rules so thoroughly that he could recite them. Knowing the rules did, in a way, give one an advantage. Knowledge is power kinda thing.

Life as a wanderer was no different, not really. Yet all the rules were unwritten. Many of the rules were not taught, but learned. If you didn't learn the rules, you'd either end up back in the system, behind bars, or dead. Austin's already rough life gave him an advantage as a wanderer. He picked up on the rules quickly. He learned how to travel effectively, how to conserve food, how to earn a few bucks without stealing, how to avoid the police, and how to find happiness in his rough life. Happiness was more important than one would think. For many drifting kids, the rough living became too much. Whether it had been the longing for a normal life, depression of living your entire life alone, anger of having to fight for a meal every single day, or just being unable to handle everything; many of them ended up killing themselves or did something stupid enough that it got them killed. Austin made sure he never let himself come to that, though, admittedly, he had gotten close a few times.

By far the rules involving other people were the most important. People were dangerous for his kind. They always were. Who could he trust? Who was untrustworthy? Who would turn against him and who would stay loyal? With these thoughts in mind, one of the number one rules as a drifter came into play.

Don't get attached.

No falling in love with someone who had a roof over their head and two parents waiting for them at home. No falling for a city. No making friends and letting them know everything about you. No talking about your personal life. The more one got close to people they met in their travels, the more likely people would ask questions. The more likely they would be found. Wanderers had to be discrete. If they just told anyone anything about themselves, they'd get thrown back into the system effective immediately.

Austin had never made the mistake of falling for another person or getting so attached to a new friend, that he didn't want to leave a city. Growing up with a friend like Trent already made him too wary of people. It made him feel like even friends were untrustworthy. He was his own friend and another human being in his life would be nothing but trouble. Or so he thought.

Making friends was dangerous and yet Austin found himself breaking that crucial rule. He did something his kind of people would _never_ do. He did something _he_ would never do. He stayed the night in the house of someone he just met. A normal person. Someone with a life; with a future. Austin let himself have that taste of normalcy. Which was probably the most poisoning thing he could do to himself. That kind of life was addicting. Once you got that first taste, you started to crave it. Hence why Austin so adamantly avoided normal people. Hence why he never got caught.

Why did he break that rule? The mess of rules he followed were there for a reason; to set some order to the chaotic life as a wanderer and he had broken it. He wanted to kick himself. He liked Dez, he really did. He liked him too much. Maybe if they had met some other way in some other life, they would have been best friends. That thought brought a sad smile to his lips. Wanderers weren't allowed to have best friends. Attachment to someone was just too much of a dangerous thing and it only caused heart ache for everyone involved. Even when you were friends with another wanderer. Austin knew from experience that that could be just as dangerous.

Austin paced around the rundown Victorian building, the floor boards creaking under his weight. He needed to stay away from those three. Dez, Ally, and Trish. They were dangerous. They were normal and Austin wasn't. His brown eyes shifted to the backpack lying on the broken, dirty couch. Maybe he should just leave. Get out of Miami and head to another city. That would be the best thing to do, but Austin wasn't ready to leave. He wanted to see Miami. It was too soon.

The blonde's eyes shifted to the wall holding up the rickety stairs. There were three very fresh and very noticeable slits carved into the old wall. Austin had put them there. Each mark represented the number of days he had been here. Three days. It was way too soon to leave Miami. He always stayed one week in each city and then left. It was always a week otherwise he felt cheated. A week was too short to get attached but it was just enough to make it feel like he had actually lived there. He got to see the city, the things that made the city unique, the type of people. Austin always stayed a week so he could get a taste of the place he was in. It was an experience in his life; a new memory. It brought some form of joy to his existence.

The one week rule was something Austin had invented back when he was thirteen. He had stayed in a town too long and people started to take notice that something was up. The authorities got involved and Austin had to high-tail it out of town and go into hiding. The one week rule did more than give one a decent taste of each city, but it also made it hard to be tracked. The police couldn't follow you when you were constantly switching cities.

Austin met other wanderers in his travels and eventually his one week rule became common among them. Many other wanderers even dubbed it the Moon Day Rule. He literally got a rule named after him. After that, he kinda became infamous among other drifters. He could recall on various occasions when he would hear other wanderers talk, saying something like-for example- seeing each other in six Moons. The slang meaning six weeks. It was a good system. Most, if not all, the drifters knew the slang and it left the authorities baffled.

There were so many buildings in the country that had seven slit marks in them. The unofficial mark of a wanderer.

Austin stared at the three marks, inwardly debating if he should just leave it at three. He bit his lower lip and tore his eyes away from the wall. He shifted his gaze on his backpack. His left foot bounced up and down as he had an inner battle with himself. Would it be worth staying in Miami?

"Oh fuck it." He growled to himself. Austin snatched the bag off the couch and hastily threw it over his shoulders. He bolted out the rickety door and turned direction to the ocean.

~0~

The ocean waves crashed against the earth, turning the water white and foamy. The sun had nearly been completely engulfed by the the horizon, the upper tip of the giant sphere just barely peeking over the massive body of water. Austin was hiding under a boardwalk, held up by tall stilts. He watched the sun be fall in slow motion, the world around him growing darker. The blonde had been there almost all day, wanting nothing more to enjoy Miami in all its glorious beauty.

He didn't want to talk to anyone or be seen so he hid where no one would bother going. Austin didn't want to see the three teens. He knew he wouldn't be able to resist speaking to them if they saw him. They were weird, by normy standards, but he liked them a lot and Ally was rather a good looking girl. Okay, who was he kidding, she was beautiful.

Austin sighed as he played with the fabric of his shirt. Well, it was technically Dez's, which was actually hard to tell. The red-head's wardrobe just seemed too flamboyant to have such a simple article of clothing a part of it. Even the jeans he wore were Dez's. He didn't think when left the other teen's home. He forgot to give him back his clothes.

The were still clean; free of stains, holes, tears, and still far from fading color. Austin's fingers went to his jacket. His most beloved property. It was so worn and beaten down; the leather on the sleeves was cracking in a few places and there were a few stains on the jean on his back. His prized possession was worn, faded, and falling apart while Dez just handed him clothes in practically perfect shape without a second thought.

He hated to admit it, but the fact of that thought made his blood boil. Everyone else in the world just had everything handed to them. They had someone to love and provide for them. Austin had gotten a broken down building full of terrible children with absolutely no one in the world to love him. Even now, free of that hell-hole, he was still alone.

One thing that Austin hated most about interacting with normal people, was the fact that he was forced to be reminded of how underprivileged his life has been to him. It was normal to have a roof over your head, clothes on your body, friends to hang out with, food at your demand, and-hell- an education! The orphanage did force the kids to go school, but it was the old elementary just a few blocks away. It had been falling apart and the teachers there just weren't paid enough to bother to give a proper education.

Much of what Austin knew was self-taught. Book-wise; he taught himself to read and write, basic mathematics, and proper grammar, but that's basically where his education ended. To be fair, he did end up spending quite a bit of time in libraries whenever he was in a new city. That was the only way he learned about the history of anything. He couldn't tell you how to solve for x, but he could tell you who the governor of Alabama was back in 1945.

Whenever he thought about it, he figured his education level was at that of maybe a fifth or six grader, he wasn't quite sure. Then again, he didn't know how kids were actually taught in school. On the other hand, if there was a school on street smarts, Austin would be at a Grad student's level. Hell, he would probably already have his Doctorates degree.

The wind suddenly picked up, breaking the blonde out of his thoughts. The wind caught his whistle necklace, causing a soft high-pitched sound to escape the metal tube. Austin grabbed his necklace and put it in his mouth, giving it a soft blow. The little thing let out a jumbled, disembodied shrill. The sound carried around him, echoing out under the bridge. The sound died quickly as a wave crashed against the earth's sandy floor. He enjoyed hearing the noise. It was something new and it was coming from something so beautifully crafted.

His left ear twitched when he heard sound of laughter. He shifted his eyes toward the source. Trish and Ally were in bathing suits and were walking along the beach all the while laughing to each other without a care in the world. Austin watched them for a moment, wondering what they were doing at the beach so late. He vaguely wondered what they did with their lives. The teen had spent hours often thinking about how normal teenagers spent their days. What did they worry about? How did they have fun? Did they think about what their lives would like had they been dealt a different hand at birth or did they live their lives mindlessly without thought? Austin didn't know.

Not wanting to be seen, the blonde shifted to the other side of the large pillar, out of the girls' line of sight. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to leave just yet. Instead, he opted to listen to the girls.

"Did you hear that new song on the radio?" Trish asked the other girl.

"Which one?" Ally asked.

"I can't remember who sings it. But it went like-" Trish began to hum out a tune. Austin let the pillar take his weight as he eyed the girls with curiosity. The Latina was just humming but Austin could tell the girl had a pretty good voice.

He watched Ally's eyes brighten with recognition. "Oh I know that one! How did it go?"

The girls laughed as they sang a song that they obviously didn't know too well. Their lyrics clashed yet their voices were still very good. Austin let out an impressed 'huh', a smirk pulling at his lips.

Ally's voice got louder, the girl becoming more confident as the two figured out the lyrics. She was good, like, _really_ good. He couldn't believe it. She was already so beautiful. Now he's learning that she's talented too.

Austin stood there, out of their line of sight, and just listened to her amazing voice. He could sit and listen to that all day. He wished he had a voice like that. Even Trish's voice was incredible. They were so gifted.

The blonde teen was broken out of his reverie when the singing was replaced with laughter. They were sitting in the sand now, laughing amongst each other. He wondered how long they've known each other; how long they've been friends. They seemed so close.

A seagull screeched out above his head. His head snapped up to the sky. It was dark now. His lips turned downward when he realized that he couldn't see the stars. He saw a few, but they were dim; washed out by the city lights. His heart stung with disappointment. He really wanted to see the stars at the beach. He loved looking at them. It was a good way to enjoy the world and not think about his life.

A particularly large wave crashed against the board's pillar's. The salt water covered Austin's converse, soaking right through the fabric. It was a bit warm. The water still holding some heat from the day's sunshine. He backed out of the reach of the ocean. His head momentarily looked up at the two girls. They were oblivious to his presence. Just how it was supposed to be.

With one last glance, Austin stepped out of from under the boardwalk, leaving from the side opposite the girls. He blocked out the thought of the girls form his mind and looked back up at the sky. The more he squinted, the more stars he could see. They were so dull and so far away. For some reason, his mind went to the time he was in California. He had visited Santa Monica Beach when he hadn't quite reached the age of twelve. After that, whenever someone asked what his middle was, he would say Monica. Santa Monica beach was one of his most vivid memories when he first started out as a wanderer; he wanted to remember it as best as he could.

Austin turned his attention to the city behind him. A smile pulled at his lips as looked at the mass of buildings. This is what he was here for. He was here to see the city of Miami. He wasn't here to make friends. He wondered what Downtown Miami looked like.

With that thought in mind, Austin made his way through the sandy beach and onto the sidewalk. He eyed his surroundings; calculating which direction he needed to go to reach Downtown Miami. One great thing about being a wanderer; he had gained an almost inhuman sense of direction. He always knew where he was and had a general idea of the entirety of the city he was in. He never really got lost.

With a general direction in mind; he left the beach and headed westward. Dez and the girls where in the back of his mind. He refused to let himself think about them. It would only cause trouble for him. Nothing good will come by making friends with them. In four day's time, his week would be up and he would be out of Miami and into another city.

Austin scurried across a busy street and ducked into an ally. He didn't look back as he moved further away from the beach. No hint of fear or uneasiness came over him as he passed sketchy neighborhoods and questionable groups of people who eyed him as he walked by. Oddly enough; it was these rundown places that he felt most comfortable. He spent the first ten years of his life in them and he walked through them all the time when he traveled. He continued walking, not a hint of fear in his stride.


End file.
